Written Answers Thursday 13 January 2005

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people suffering from the effects of alcohol were admitted to hospital accident and emergency units during the festive season.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not held centrally. Statistical information on attendances at accident and emergency departments is collected centrally, but this is not broken down by diagnosis.

Cancer

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that accurate statistics on cancer in Scotland continue to be available.

Mr Andy Kerr: National statistics on cancer in Scotland are available from the cancer registration system for newly diagnosed patients, and from mortality records. Information is published regularly by NHS National Services Scotland (Information Services Division). There are no current plans to change this.

Digital Hearing Aids

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time is to receive a hearing test for a digital hearing aid.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive is committed to modernising and improving audiology services across NHSScotland. We are investing almost £20 million over the five year period 2002-03 to 2006-07 to ensure NHS boards are equipped with the necessary facilities, equipment, staff and hearing aids to provide a modernised service.

  The Executive is currently setting up a mechanism for gathering information from audiology departments and it is proposed that this information, which will include waiting times, will be published when the process has been established.

  The information requested is not available centrally. Information on NHS waiting times is collected centrally only for first out-patient appointment at consultant-led clinics, following referral by a general medical or dental practitioner, at specialty level only, and for in-patient and day case treatment.

Drug Misuse

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were arrested for drug-driving during the festive season.

Cathy Jamieson: Between 6 December and 3 January a total of 21 people were arrested for drug driving offences in Scotland.

General Practitioners

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many GP practices were certified as training practices in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following numbers of GP practices were accredited as training practices in each of the relevant years:

  

1999
282


2000
282


2001
273


2002
276


2003
283


2004
282



  Over the same period the number of trainers increased by 22%, from 314 to 384, with two accredited trainers now available in the majority of training practices.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects postcode prescribing to end.

Mr Andy Kerr: We are committed to ensuring there is no postcode prescribing in the NHS in Scotland. The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) provides a single national source of advice about all newly licensed medicines. The SMC recommended medicines should be available across Scotland to meet clinical need. We have recently put in place new arrangements with NHS boards to strengthen further the process of planning and implementation for the introduction of significant new drugs.

Health

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to prevent deaths caused by radon gas.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive has commissioned the National Radiological Protection Board to give advice on the radiological significance of levels of radon in Scotland, and, as part of this process, the board is completing its survey of radon, in housing across Scotland. The survey findings will be available later in the year. Meantime, building regulations require that, in radon affected areas, radon control measures must be incorporated into new houses as they are being built.

Higher Education

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what further progress has been made in respect of arrangements for cross-border flows of students.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Implementation Advisory Group is making good progress towards fulfilling its remit to offer advice on tuition fee levels for Scottish higher education institutions from 2006 and to oversee the administrative changes required as a consequence of changing the tuition fee level. The group has identified a number of points to be taken into account before the final fee level is announced. I wish to take full account of the group’s deliberations before reaching a decision on fees. I regret I was not able to make an announcement before the end of the calendar year, as had originally been my intention. I will make an announcement as soon as possible after the group has concluded its discussions.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to test each patient admitted to hospital for MRSA.

Mr Andy Kerr: Many patients, particularly those being admitted for routine surgery, are already screened for MRSA prior to admission. The Ministerial Taskforce on Healthcare Associated Infection will be considering our strategic approach to screening in the light of forthcoming professional guidance and review of the published evidence on effectiveness of a variety of interventions against MRSA.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures have been specified for testing areas in which patients with MRSA have been nursed once the patient has been moved and the area cleaned.

Mr Andy Kerr: There is no nationally specified procedure for this. Any environmental testing would be for the local Infection control team or committee to agree and implement, based on local circumstances.

  The National Cleaning Specification, which set out how hospitals and other health care premises should be cleaned and how frequently, along with a detailed code of practice (the first of its kind in the UK) on how hygiene and the prevention and control of infection are managed at local level were published in May this year.

Housing

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure adequate standards of heating in homes.

Johann Lamont: We are working to ensure adequate heating in homes through a variety of measures, including the central heating programme, the warm deal and the Scottish Housing Quality Standard. The Executive has also recently consulted on proposals to extend the Tolerable Standard to cover basic thermal insulation, as part of our proposals for a Housing Bill.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on ad hoc or temporary procurator fiscal deputes in each sheriff court district in each year since 1999.

Colin Boyd QC: Expenditure on temporary procurator fiscal deputes by Procurator Fiscal office for the last five financial years was:

  

 
1999-2000
(£)
2000-01
(£)
2001-02
(£)
2002-03
(£)
2003-04
(£)


Aberdeen
860
13,665
26,650
6,075
18,289


Airdrie
41,253
36,881
18,964
21,923
47,783


Arbroath
0
0
705
705
0


Ayr
1,850
4,050
7,050
1,650
11,460


Campbeltown
1,800
450
4,200
450
3,995


Cupar
0
705
0
0
2,850


Dumbarton
4,450
17,055
14,659
15,596
3,503


Dumfries
0
0
0
0-
3,960


Dundee
8,039
12,670
10,676
48,274
78,167


Dunfermline
6,607
2,291
881
176
476


Duns
0
150
0
0
0


Edinburgh
42,433
105,993
52,069
132,004
128,667


Falkirk
16,582
0
18,454
19,046
33,761


Forfar
0
0
353
705
0


Fort William
0
1,234
0
0
0


Glasgow
178,506
150,754
236,571
194,751
113,054


Greenock
0
3,968
1,800
10,605
12,683


Haddington
0
0
0
450
8,250


Hamilton
25,604
40,669
89,749
87,431
55,159


Jedburgh
0
0
2,100
750
0


Kirkcudbright
3,904
2,100
3,000
2,100
2,475


Kirkcaldy
21,802
10,046
5,640
4,406
0


Kilmarnock
2,795
9,595
881
0
329


Kirkwall
1,500
1,500
1,500
1,125
1,875


Lerwick
1,694
1,800
1,571
1,125
1,875


Linlithgow
47,012
12,806
22,312
19,200
14,250


Lanark
585
1,586
2,001
855
176


Oban
0
750
1,350
326
329


Paisley
10,240
12,289
35,139
29,775
29,770


Peebles
0
150
0
0
0


Perth
16,257
39,248
21,212
27,912
19,056


Rothesay
0
0
0
150
0


Selkirk
0
2,231
6,880
150
0


Stranraer
1,670
150
0
150
0


Stirling
4,574
1,058
7,705
24,641
9,900


Stornoway
375
1,500
2,250
0
2,625


Wick
1,603
0
0
0
0

Meat Industry

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support the reopening of the abattoir on Islay.

Ross Finnie: The Executive has not received any application or enquiry regarding support for the reopening of the abattoir on Islay.

NHS Finance

Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is assisting NHS boards with long-term financial planning.

Mr Andy Kerr: In the early part of each year NHS boards receive an allocation for the following financial year and, after each spending review, indicative allocations for the next two years. This gives boards a reasonable degree of certainty over the resources available to them for the next three years.

  Officials meet with NHS directors of finance on a regular basis to discuss financial issues both current and future, to consider how these should be dealt with within financial plans and to share ideas and best practice across NHS boards.

  A review of Scottish Health and Care statistics is currently underway. This project will pave the way for the production of more consistent, relevant information on activity and costs within the NHS which will assist the NHS in forecasting.

NHS Hospitals

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will urge the board of NHS Argyll and Clyde to suspend the closure of the assessment ward at Campbeltown Hospital and direct it to refocus its cost recovery plan on areas that have consistently overspent in the past and on specific measures that will not result in the saved costs for NHS Argyll and Clyde being achieved at the expense of other agencies and individuals.

Mr Andy Kerr: We look to NHS boards to effectively provide services that meet the needs of local people, whilst living within their means. It is essential they do so in order to deliver high quality, safe and sustainable services for all their residents.

  Argyll and Clyde NHS Board, in pursuing the development of community-based services in the Kintyre area, is following national policy on the provision of services for older people. This policy was informed by extensive consultation with user groups, staff, professional organisations and elected representatives.

  I have received assurances that where patients need hospital care, they will continue to receive it, and that the board intends to involve local people further in shaping the community-based service to make sure that it meets patients’ needs as effectively as possible.

  I made it clear in the chamber before the recess that I am not prepared to intervene in this case. I expect the board to do the job it is set up to do.

NHS Hospitals

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the bed occupancy rate has been in each NHS board area in each year since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on bed occupancy rates for Scotland and in each NHS board area for the years ending 31 March 1999 to 2004 is shown in the following table.

  NHSScotland - Percentage Bed Occupancy1; by NHS Board Area: Years Ending 31 March 1999-2004

  

 
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004 P


Scotland
80.5
80.7
80.8
81.4
81.5
80.4


Argyll and Clyde
85.5
85.3
83.1
82.7
81.3
81.0


Ayrshire and Arran
82.5
82.1
82.1
81.8
81.3
79.9


Borders
70.2
71.3
78.6
80.2
79.5
80.2


Dumfries and Galloway
70.0
74.2
71.3
72.4
76.1
69.2


Fife
81.7
80.3
79.9
81.1
80.9
77.8


Forth Valley
82.4
84.4
82.2
81.0
80.1
83.1


Grampian
78.6
79.9
80.5
81.2
81.8
80.5


Greater Glasgow
83.0
82.2
82.0
82.5
82.9
81.8


Highland
73.8
72.4
75.1
74.9
74.5
74.8


Lanarkshire
78.9
76.8
76.7
81.0
81.1
79.1


Lothian
81.3
83.7
84.8
82.4
83.8
84.0


Orkney
69.6
67.7
65.1
69.2
72.4
58.0


Shetland
71.5
66.7
72.5
77.9
72.4
65.9


Tayside
79.8
79.5
80.4
82.8
82.4
80.9


Western Isles
69.7
73.0
72.6
79.1
73.5
69.4



  Source: ISD Scotland [Form ISD(S)1].

  PProvisional, some information may be estimated.

  Note: 1. Includes NHS and joint-user and contractual hospitals.

National Parks

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to establish marine national parks.

Ross Finnie: We are currently considering options for the future management of Scotland’s marine environment following our wide ranging consultation exercise last year. We will make an announcement in due course.

Nutrition

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rationale is for the provision of free drinking water for school children and whether the provision of free milk would give better nutritional value.

Mr Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive is fully committed to improving the health and diet of young people. As part of this we aim to ensure that all schools take on the recommendations made by the Expert Panel on School Meals, one of which was that fresh free drinking water should be made available in all schools.

  Nutritional opinion on the merits of increasing milk consumption, other than low fat milk, is equivocal. However, drinking water or low fat milk is a healthier alternative than sugary drinks.

Pharmacies

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce generic substitution prescriptions to pharmacies.

Mr Andy Kerr: We have no plans to do so.

  Proprietary (branded) medicines are those protected by a product licence. Generic drugs are those drugs where licence protection no longer applies. They are generally less expensive than the equivalent branded products and their cost effectiveness is recognised. Generic prescribing is encouraged in the NHS and at present around 70% of GP prescriptions are written generically.

  Under the Medicines Act 1968 "prescription only" medicines may only be sold or supplied in accordance with a prescription written by an appropriately qualified prescriber, as defined in the act. Under the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 pharmacists must supply what is ordered on a prescription.

  Generic substitution at the point of dispensing is not provided for in the legislation. This is because for some drugs the generic and proprietary versions are not bio-equivalent, which means that patients may need to be maintained on either the branded or the generic product. This issue arises mainly with sustained release products and is particularly relevant to drugs used in the treatment of epilepsy.

Prison Service

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the role of prison-visiting committees.

Cathy Jamieson: I met with representatives of the Association of Visiting Committees on 6 December last year and advised them of my intention to hold a review of the role of Prison Visiting Committees.

Rail Services

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to improve punctuality and passenger satisfaction on the railways.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is working closely with the Strategic Rail Authority to ensure that the provisions in the new Scottish rail franchise agreement, which require better performance from First ScotRail, are effectively enforced. Failure to meet these standards can lead to penalty payments being imposed on the franchisee.

Recycling

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage community recycling initiatives in the Highlands.

Ross Finnie: We awarded over £500,000 in November 2004 to Highland Council to support five community recycling initiatives in the Highlands. We are also supporting the community recycling sector through the INCREASE programme, a grant scheme worth £5 million over two years and groups in the Highlands are eligible to apply.

Recycling

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to encourage the recycling of Christmas cards, trees and packaging.

Ross Finnie: The Executive is encouraging the public to participate in the Woodland Trust Christmas Card Recycling Scheme 2005 and collection bins are available in WH Smith and Tesco stores.

  Many local authorities have organised special arrangements for Christmas trees or will accept these and cards, wrapping paper and packaging as part of kerbside recycling schemes.

Renewable Energy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has set any visual distance threshold from houses in relation to wind farm applications and, if so, what the threshold is.

Johann Lamont: No specific thresholds have been set since impacts will vary from proposal to proposal depending on the siting, layout and size of wind farms in relation to local land form and landscape characteristics. Advice on addressing potential disturbances, such as noise and visual impact, is given in Planning Advice Note 45: Renewable Energy Technologies  (Bib. number 18913) must be satisfactorily addressed before planning permission is granted.

Renewable Energy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will promote a criteria-based or map-based approach to onshore wind farm planning policy.

Johann Lamont: National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 6: Renewable Energy Developments (Bib. number 18113) already asks councils to use their development plans to either define areas considered suitable for wind farms or else to set out criteria to guide the location of new developments.

Sex Offenders

Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to review the sex offender registration scheme.

Cathy Jamieson: I have ordered that an independent review of the operation of the sex offenders registration scheme be conducted.

  I am pleased to confirm that Professor George Irving, currently Chair of Ayrshire and Arran Health Board, has agreed to undertake this work. His remit is to review the operation and effectiveness of the sex offenders notification regime in Scotland, to seek the views of the agencies involved, to make recommendations for improvement, and to advise on any other relevant issues relating to sex offenders subject to registration.

Tourism

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to market Scotland as a tourist destination overseas.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive has more than doubled VisitScotland’s budget since 2000, with a 28% increase in its marketing budget announced last March. In addition, some of this additional marketing funding is being matched by the private sector.

  VisitScotland is using part of this increased funding to further strengthen its overseas marketing, particularly in the many countries now linked to Scotland by new air routes supported by our Route Development Fund. The results speak for themselves - in the first nine months of 2004, the number of overseas visitors to Scotland increased by 13% compared to the same period in 2003.

Tourism

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to increase the proportion of holidays by Scots that are taken in Scotland.

Patricia Ferguson: The home market is very important for Scottish tourism. The additional resources we have made available to VisitScotland will strengthen the marketing of Scotland as a great place to take a break, not only in overseas markets and in the rest of the UK, but here in Scotland as well.

  VisitScotland runs various campaigns in Scotland, as well as in the rest of the UK and overseas, highlighting all that we have to offer as a great holiday destination throughout the year. In addition, it plans to use the new tourism network to market Scotland to the Scots.

Transport

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made with its Partnership Agreement commitment to establish a national transport agency for Scotland to deliver on Scotland’s transport priorities and whether any decision has been reached on where the agency will be based.

Nicol Stephen: Progress with the establishment of the agency continues .  The national transport agency’s key responsibilities will be the delivery of major infrastructure projects for rail, tram and trunk roads. It will also be responsible for the development and maintenance of the trunk road network and will oversee delivery of the rail franchise. The agency will develop transport services which will improve public transport and road travel such as the new national concessionary travel schemes.

  The new agency will be based in Glasgow. This will allow closer working with the other major transport organisations already based in Glasgow. Glasgow was chosen as the preferred location following a comprehensive appraisal of all 32 local authority areas in Scotland. A site is expected to be identified in the next few months. Full relocation will be completed by April 2007 to allow for the smooth continuation of business. A copy of the appraisal report which informed ministers’ decision is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34887).

Water Charges

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with Scottish Water regarding water charges.

Lewis Macdonald: Charges for 2005-06 are a matter for Scottish Water and the Water Industry Commissioner and were announced by the Commissioner on 22 December 2004.